Favorite Summer Cocktails

Usually I’m a glass of wine kind of girl and Mike is a microbrew fan, but there’s something about long summer evenings that call for a good cocktail. Here are my top favorites this year:

Gin and Tonic
After a day of playing in the water, there's nothing better.

Ingredients:
Ice
3 oz Gin
½ cup of Tonic Water (I like Schweppes)
2 lime wedges

Pour gin and tonic water over ice, squeeze one lime into the glass and stir gently to mix. Run the second lime wedge over the rim of the glass, then squeeze the rest into the glass before serving.


Blackberry Firefly
This is my new backyard pergola favorite. It would also be excellent on a porch swing on a warm summer evening.

Ingredients:
Ice
3 tbs blackberry puree (recipe to follow)
3 oz Firefly Vodka
½ cup water
Fresh Blackberries for garnish

Pour blackberry puree, firefly vodka and water over the ice, stir to mix. Top with fresh blackberries to garnish.

To make blackberry puree, put blackberries in a blender and puree. Push through a mesh sieve to strain out the seeds. The puree also freezes well as ice cubes.

Dark and Stormy
This is one of the best summer drinks of all time. Anywhere, anytime all summer long this is the perfect accompaniment.

Ingredients:
Ice
3 oz Dark rum (preferably Goslings)
½ cup Ginger Beer (NOT ginger ale - my favorites are Reed’s Extra Ginger, Gosling’s, Regatta and Natural Brew Outrageous)
3 Lime wedges

Fill up a glass with ice, then add the dark rum and ginger beer. Squeeze two lime wedges into the glass and discard. Rub the third lime wedge over the rim of the glass, then squeeze the rest of the lime into the drink and throw it in as a garnish. Stir gently and serve.